lOffo W3iylaimdl*s ID)n§(B©im3rsj 



THE AFFAIRS OF IIHODE-ISLAND, 



i>ii;LiV£r>ED iJf 



THE MEETI^^G-llOUSE OF ITiE FIKST BAPTIST CilURCH,' 



?^ PROVIDENCE. 




HAy'H, 18 42. 



i-T"Trir'-rT i — ar' 




Qass. 
Book. 



.4 



THE AFFAIRS OF RHODEJSLAND, 



DISCOURSE 



DELIVERED IN 



THE MEETING-HOUSE OF THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, 



PROVIDENCE, 



MAY 2 2, 18 42. 



BY FRANCIS WAYLAND, 



STfjicTJ 3StJttion, 




^ PROVIDENCE: 
B. CRANSTON & CO. AND H. H. BROWN. 
1842. 



?l 



v^. 



W34-3 



Providence, Mat 23, 1842. 
To THE Rev. I>r. Wayland, 
SIR, 

At a special meeting of the Charitable Baptist Society, on Monday, 
the 23d of May inst. it was unanimouslj' " Resolved, That the thanks 
oi' this Society be presented to the Rev. Dr. Wayland, for his able and 
impressive discourse delivered yesterday, before said Society, and that 
he be requested to furnish a copy of the same for the press." And it 
was also resolved, that the undersigned be a Committee to communi- 
tcate to you the above resolution, and to carry the same into effect. 
. We are, veiy respectfully, Sir, 

Your obedient servants, 

JOHN PITMAN, 

A. WOODS, 

GAMALIEL LYMAN DWIGHT.' 



Providence, Mat 24, 1842. 

Gentlemen, 
The Discourse which you have done me tlie honor to request for 
the press, was written without the remotest intention of publication. 
The subject has, however, become one of so intense intex-est, that I do 
not feel myself at liberty to withhold from the public any thing within 
my control, which you believe will be of any service to the cause of 
Liberty and Law. I therefore submit it to your disposal. 
I am. 

Gentlemen, 

Yours, very truly, 

F. WAYLAND. 
Hon. John Pitman, 
Rev. A. Woods, D. D. 
Gamaliel L. Dwight, Esq. 

Comnvitiee. 



A DISCOURSE. 



PSALM xLvi. 1. 

God is our refuge and strength ; a very 
present help in trouble. 

Called upon unexpectedly to address you, my 
brethren, this morning, while every heart is still throb- 
bing with the anxieties of the past week, I know that 
every one will expect me to make the events which 
have transpired, the subject of the present discourse- 
My own mind is so full of it that 1 could scarcely 
address you on any thing else. And yet, for that very 
reason, I am forced to distrust myself. I would not 
intentionally give pain to any thing that lives, much 
less to a fellow citizen, and, least of all, from this 
place, to a fellow worshipper. And yet, on such an 
occasion I cannot be silent, and if 1 speak, I must 
speak what I suppose to be the truth. All who have 
ever known me will bear me witness that I have nev- 
er mingled in the strife of politics. Never, that I know 
of, have I uttered a syllable, either from the pulpit or 
the press, at which men of any political party have 
taken exception. This, however, is no party question. 
It is a question affecting the very existence of society. 
During the past week we have been called upon to 
decide, not whether this party or that shall be in the 



ascendant, but whether law or anarchy shall bear 
sway ; not at the ballot boxes, to express our peace- 
ful wishes, but, at the cannon's mouth, to determine 
whether we shall be governed by constitutional law, 
or trampled under foot by a lawless soldiery. In 
such a case as this, I claim the right, as an humble 
individual and as a minister of the Gospel, to speak 
what I think, and I here lift up my heart in thanks- 
giving to God, that those laws still remain in force, 
under whose protection 1 may do this fearlessly. 

I, however, beg leave to say, that 1 here have no 
question to raise in regard to suffrage and suffrage 
men. My own opinion, as many of you know, has 
always been in favor of the extension of suffrage. 
In this point, 1 presume that this community is very 
generally agreed. With men who desire a change 
in this respect, I can of course, have no controversy, 
and they, I am sure, will take no ofi'ence. To men 
who have been misled and deceived, who were not 
aware of the designs that have been entertained, and 
who were not therefore intentionally responsible for 
the measures which have been pursued, 1 feel every 
sentiment of kindness and respect. For their sakes, 
gladly would I cover all that is past with the pall of 
oblivion. But when a frightful crime has been medi- 
tated, and but for the goodness of God, would have 
been perpetrated, it is my duty to my fellow men to 
set forth its nature ; and it is my duty to God to call 
you to thanksgiving, for the divine interposition, and 
here, in his courts, to celebrate the praises of this 
merciful deliverance. 

Durmg the past week, my brethren, we have pass- 



ed through a feariul crisis. It is, I suppose, beyond 
question true, that a plan was matured, not only to 
overturn by force, the established government of 
this State, but to take military occupation of this 
city, to subject this whole people to martial law, to 
place the hves of us, of our wives and children, un- 
der the power of armed men, who, being without dis- 
cipline, could have been under no control — to ex- 
pose our property to pillage, to put at defiance the 
laws of the land, and unless all this was tamely per- 
mitted, to make this fair city a scene of universal car- 
nage. This is surely bad enough, but this is not all. 
The principles which have been avowed, seem to me 
as utterly subversive of all other governments as they 
are of our own. If an established government may 
be overturned on the principles which have been ad- 
vocated, and in the manner which we have seen at- 
tempted, no constitution in the land is worth the 
parchment on which it is written. The only law 
that would be known, would soon be the law of 
force. The only principle of action would come to 
be the love of plunder. All that would be necessary, 
in order to establish unlimited power over us, would 
be, without the forms of law, to lay claim to a majori- 
ty, and assemble a sufficient number of armed men 
to carry its decisions into effect. The same means 
by which the first usurpation was accomplished, 
would be a good reason for perpetrating a second 
and a third, each one more bloody and tyrannical 
than its predecessor, until the horrors of revolution- 
ary France were re-enacted here, and then until they 
terminated in as fearful and inflexible a despotism. 



I regret to say, tliat if these principles could have 
obtained a foothold here, they would, I fear, have 
spread, 1 know not how rapidly, to the adjoining 
States. Meetings of men, sympathizing as it is call- 
ed, with this movement, have been held in Boston, 
in New -York, in Philadelphia, and in other places. 
They have been fostered and abetted in some cases, 
by the civil magistrates ; and yet more, in some in- 
stances by men who have been nurtured among us, 
who have sat at our tables, and been warmed at our 
fire-sides. I hope that such men have been deceiv- 
ed and misled, but I can hardly believe it as much as 
I wish 1 could. So dire is the lust of office, so blind 
the rage of political ambition, that I fear there are 
men among us who look at nothing as a crime, which 
will put them at the head of the strongest. Such 
men will easily find a multitude to follow wherever 
they will lead. Thus the flame which was almost 
kindled here, might have spread over all New-Eng- 
land. That such principles would have ultimately 
triumphed, I do not beheve, for the Lord God Om- 
nipotent reigneth ; and with all our sins, I cannot 
believe that we have yet deserved so awful a visita- 
tion. I beheve that throughout our country, as He 
has done here. He would have aroused the intensest 
love of right, and hatred of oppression. I believe that 
rather than submit to such a despotism, the despot- 
ism of lawless force, every good citizen would have 
contended unto death ; I believe that such an attempt 
would have ended, as it has here, in utter confusion. 
But who can tell what such a contest would have 
cost ? Who can tell what blood would have been 



9 

5;hed, ere we should have been again restored to 
tranquilhty ? And who can estimate the effect on 
the civihzed world, of such a spectacle ? Who can 
tell how the friends of liberty would have been con- 
founded, and how their best hopes would have been 
dashed, for centuries ? The very notion of a free 
government, if it must be liable to convulsions such 
as this, would be a scoffing and a bye-word. Nay, 
I already feel humbled more than I can express, 
when I reflect, that the news of this wicked design, 
borne on the wings of the wind, is already on its 
way to every dwelling in the civilized world. As a 
citizen of this State, how can I look a stranger in 
the face, and be obliged to confess that this soil has 
been degraded by men who were assembled with 
arms in their hands, for the purpose of overthrowing 
a government under which every man has ever been 
most perfectly protected — under which, every man 
has enjoyed the most perfect liberty, and to over- 
throw it at the sacrifice not only of the best blood 
of this State, but of the blood of relatives, of breth- 
ren, nay of a tender and too-indulgent parent ! But 
the subject is too painful ; I can pursue it no farther. 
May God, in his infinite mercy, pardon the guilt of 
this transaction. 

But from all this, I trust a merciful God has de- 
livered us. He has brought to confusion this design, 
so steeped in atrocity, and all good men, and among 
them, those who were at first misled into a partial 
participation in the measures in v/hich it commenced, 
see it in its true character. The whole feeling of 

this communitv is aroused, and Rhode-Island is her- 
2 



>0 

self again. God liimself permitted the evil doers to 
awaken our fellow citizens to their danger, and He 
himself called into action the energy required to 
meet and to dispel it. Without aid from abroad, by 
summoning to the crisis the spirit of the State, He 
scattered it as the chaff of the summer threshing 
floor. To Him be first of all the praise of this de- 
liverance. Here in thy courts, Oh God, here un- 
der the protection of constitutional law, here in the 
quiet enjoyment of the blessings which our fathers 
have bequeathed to us, we render to thee the hom- 
age of humble and grateful hearts. To thee belong 
the song of thanksgiving and the anthem of praise. 
The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice ; let the 
multitude of isles be glad thereof. 

And next let us tender our grateful acknowledg- 
ments to those of our fellovi^ citizens, who perilled 
their lives in support of liberty and law. Blessed be 
God, that the blood of neither party has been shed, 
that no heart has been called to mourn the loss by 
death, of any whom it held dear. But I well know, 
that had such a sacrifice been necessary, among the 
company of citizens who, on the last Tuesday night 
were assembled to defend yonder arsenal, there was 
not one who would not have cheerfully sacrificed it. 
And a similar spirit pervaded the multitude who were 
on the succeeding day, marched to disperse the in- 
surgents. All felt that all they held dear was at stake, 
and all felt that in such a cause, life was freely to be 
perilled. And not to our townsmen alone, is this trib- 
ute of acknowledgment due. Our fellow citizens 
from Warren, Bristol, and Newport, who with such 



11 

j^romptness came to our assistance, and stood with 
us shoulder to shoulder, in the defence of liberty and 
law, have bound themselves to us by a tie which 
shall not easily be severed. Rhode-Island will long 
have occasion to remember them with gratitude. 

While, however, I have spoken thus of this occur- 
rence, I desire it to be distinctly understood, that 
neither 1 nor any one else believes for a moment 
that the vast majority of our fellow citizens who were 
engaged in what is called the Suffrage cause, had 
any participation in, or even knowledge of the atro- 
cities that were intended. Many of them were seen 
in the ranks with their fellow citizens, prepared to 
resist this violence to the uttermost. Others who 
were not seen there, were using their influence to 
prevent any recourse to arms. A large portion of 
the military assembled at the insurgent head quar- 
ters, knew nothing of the designs of their leader, 
until the last moment, and as soon as they were in- 
formed of his intentions, immediately withdrew. But 
a very few, and those I believe principally men col- 
lected from other States, eager for nothing but plun- 
der, were prepared to shed the blood of this city. If 
there were those among us who were prepared for 
such a deed, I hope that I shall never know of it. 
May God forgive them, and grant them better minds. 

But, you will naturally ask, how was it that such 
an attempt could ever have been conceived, and how 
could the preparations for it have ever been made, 
in such a city as this ; a city in which peace and good 
feeUng have, from its first settlement, so universally 
prevailed ? I feel constrained to answer this question 



n 

very briefly, as there arises from it directly iiiafiy a 
lesson of wisdom, which may guide us in the future. 
This difficulty, as you are all aware, arose upon 
the question of suffi-age. The Charter* under which 
this State has from the beginning existed, limits this 
right to those who possess real estate to the value of 
one hundred and thirty-four dollars ; on the principle 
that as law is a permanent enactment, those only 
should vote for legislators who have a permanent 
residence, and are themselves likely to be affected by 
their own decisions. Of this permanence of residence, 
the possession of real estate was supposed to be the 
most appropriate evidence. And moreover, the qual- 
ification was placed so low, that it was believed that 
most persons who really desired to participate in pub- 
lic affairs, might easily do so. In consequence of this 
arrangement, the number of voters in proportion to 
the whole number of citizens, was less than in most 
of the States of the Union. With the wisdom of this 
provision I have nothing to do. A very able argu- 
ment might easily be made out on either side of the 
question. It is, however, proper to remark that un- 
der it, this State has enjoyed unexampled prosperity. 
The people of Rhode-Island, whether voters or not, 
felt a natural pride in possessing the oldest form of 
social organization existing in any part of this new 
world, from Labrador to Cape Horn. No instance 
has ever been adduced, so far as I have been in- 
formed, of any oppression or injustice which has 
occurred under it. A form of social organization 
which has maintained this character for one hundred 
and eighty years, in the midst of a people proverbi- 

*See Note on last page. 



ally jealous of their rights, could not surely contain 
any element essentially unfavorable to liberty.* 

While, however, I say this, it is proper to add that 
in my opinion, a citizen of Rhode-Island, who has 
been always familiar with this form of the constitu- 
ency, does not readily appreciate the manner in 
which it strikes persons from other States, who have 
been accustomed to a wider extension of suffrage. 
It gives rise to odious and unkind comparisons. — 
Hence, whatever may be its practical value in other 
respects, it should be borne in mind that this value 
may be overbalanced by the ili-feehng which is lia- 
ble to be engendered. It should be also remember- 
ed that in any social compact, not only the rights but 
also the feelings of our fellow men should be strictly 
regarded ; and that it is frequently better to yield in 
a doubtful matter, than to suffer the accusation of in- 
justice from too strict an adherence to our own opin- 
ions. Besides this, the population of the different 
towns had increased in very different ratios. Hence, 
the representation had become palpably unequal. 
There was therefore, good reason for a revision of 
the whole subject. I beheve it to be at present uni- 
versally conceded that it would have been better if 



* The authority of 3Ir. Bancroft, the historian of the United States, 
is very expHcit on this suhject. "The Charter Government, constitu- 
ting, as it then seemed, a true democracy, and estabhshing a pohtical 
system, which few, beside the Rhode Islanders themseh^es, believed to 
be practicable, is still in existence, and is the oldest constitutional 
charter now valid, in the world. The probable population of R. Isl- 
and at the time of its reception, may have been 2,500. In 170 years, 
that number has increased forty fold ; and the goverinnent which was 
hardlj' thought to contain checks enough on the power of the people to endure 
among shepherds and farmers, protects a dense population, and the ac- 
cumulation of a \\'idely extended commerce. JVo where in the world, have 
life, Ubertii, and property been safer than in R. Island''' — Bancroft, Vol. 2, 
p. (11. 



14 

a change in the elective franchise had been made 
many years since. Had this been done, it would have 
saved us a period of intense anxiety and alarm. 
While, however, I say this, it is proper to add that 
until very lately, it has been really doubtful whether 
a change was actually desired by any large number of 
our citizens. Petitions on this subject were, it is true, 
several times presented, but they never seemed to 
arise from any strong feeling, nor to assume a form 
that called for immediate action. It has really been 
a matter of surprise to me, that the question awak- 
ened so little attention. 

Believing that this change ought to be made, the 
plan was some time since suggested, of carrying this 
object into effect by means of voluntary associations. 
The simple object of these associations at first, was 
to procure a change in the constituency, by legal 
means and without the idea of violence. To this 
RO citizen could object, and had these associations 
been restricted to their original design, they would 
have accomplished their object without incurring 
even the suspicion of wrorg. But here allow me to 
caution my fellow citizens. A voluntary association 
for an innocent object, by innocent means, is of 
course, in itself, innocent. But when the object 
strongly interests the feelings of men, it is, of all 
things, most difficult to confine it to its original de- 
sign. It forms a band of union, by which the whole 
power of the association may be brought to bear up- 
on a single individual. Hence, every member is 
placed under the control of the whole. The body is 
at the command of the head, and thus men are too 



15 

frequently led to lose sight of the object, to exchange 
it for another, or to seek its attainment by means of 
which they originally had no conception. 

Such was the case in the progress of this transac- 
tion. Soon was engrafted on this original idea the 
notion of forming a distinct and separate govern- 
ment, without regard to any thing that at present 
existed. A convention was held, and a constitution 
framed. When this instrument was proposed to the 
public, a large portion of our citizens voted for it, 
without the remotest conception of really forming a 
new and revolutionary government, but merely as an 
expression of their desire that suffrage should be ex- 
tended. Many with whom I have conversed, have 
thus expressed to me, in the fullest manner, their in- 
tentions on this subject. In this, I must be allowed 
to say that I think they were greatly in error. They 
unintentionally were led to say what they did not 
mean, and the result was unfortunate. They voted 
to adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the 
land, when they merely intended to say that they de- 
sired the constituency to be enlarged. Hence ma- 
jorities were claimed which did not really exist, and 
a false issue was given to this whole question.* 



*The number of votes thus claimed for this Constitution was nearly 
14,000. A large nmnber of these were given by proxy, and as no oath 
was taken or req^uired of moderator, clerk, voter, or proxy, no one can 
form any estimate of the value of the act as an expression of the pub- 
lic opinion. That it was by no means such an expression as justifies 
action upon it, even on the principles which were assmned, is evident 
from the fact, that wlien the officers under this constitution were chos- 
en, but 6,417 persons voted, that is, 7,449, or more than one half, had 
abandoned it; and less than one third of the v/hole number of adult 
male inhabitants appearing in its favor. I make this note merely t« 
show that I have not overstated the fact in the paragraph above. 



16 

The next step which was taken was to assert that 
this was the supreme law of the land, and to elect 
and organize a government under it. In the mean 
time, however, a Constitution proposed in conform- 
ity with the law of the land, and offering very nearly 
as wide an extension of suffrage as had been at first 
demanded, was offered to the people. This you 
well know was rejected by the combined vote of the 
whole suffrage party and of those citizens who did 
not desire any change. The main ground of the con- 
troversy was thus changed, and the original ground 
abandoned. It was no more in the main a practi- 
cal question how far the right of suffrage should be 
extended, but the abstract question whether the as- 
serted majority of the people, a majority determined 
by no forms of law, has a right at any moment to 
overturn the whole fabric of existing institutions and 
form a government at will. This seems to me no 
other than the question whether in entering into so- 
ciety, I submit all that renders existence vakuible to 
the unlimited power of a majority, or whether that 
majority as truly as the minority, is subject to law ; 
whether when I swear allegiance to a government, 
I mean to be true to my engagement ; or whether I 
am at liberty to break that allegiance as soon as I 
please ; whether, in fact, existing laws and Constitu- 
tions are of any force, or whether they are only blank 
paper, and the majority have a right to govern the 
minority at all times and for all purposes, according 
to their simple will. On this principle I see not how 
a government could exist for a moment, nay, I see 
not how society could be held together. The object 



17 

ot" all society and all government, is to secure to 
every individual his just and natural rights : but how 
can these be secured when the majority has the right 
to do whatever it has the power to do? Solitude 
would, in such a case, be better than society, inas- 
much as freedom by one's self is better than slavery 
in company. 

When the tendency of all this became apparent, a 
large portion of those who merely desired an ex- 
tension of suffrage by constitutional means, with- 
drew, and henceforward had no farther participation 
in the transaction. Still it was determined by those 
who remained, to organize a government, and this 
also was done. Still I am well aware that a large 
majority had no intention to proceed any farther than 
merely to give the question a form which might bring 
it before the General Government, in order that the 
question might there be decided, whether or not they 
had thus far acted constitutionally. When this had 
been done they also withdrew, desiring only to bring 
the question to a legal issue. Others, who did not 
withdraw, were of the same opinion, and remained, 1 
believe, for the purpose of giving an innocent termi- 
nation to a movement which they could not arrest. 

The die however had been cast. There had been 
formed an organization, purporting to be the consti- 
tutional government of Rhode-Island, and though the 
greater part of those who originally commenced this 
movement had withdrawn, yet those who remained 
claimed the right to exercise the supreme authority 
of the State. The sentiments expressed in the letters 
of the President of the United States, had no effect 



18 

to turn them from their purpose. It was boldly given 
out that the question was to be settled by arms, and 
that this Constitution would be enforced at the 
point of the bayonet. Argument was lost sight of 
and the attempt was made to overawe the citizens 
by intimidation. The worst passions of the human 
heart were aroused by the most inflammatory ad- 
dresses and resolutions. The friends of liberty 
and law were denounced as tyrants, oppressors, 
aristocrats ; whow ere grinding the faces of the poor, 
and deserving of all that a sanguinary mob could 
inflict, and it was plainly intimated that the cause 
of liberty required the infliction. Many of our 
best citizens were spoken of as marked men ; and 
in the public papers their places of residence were 
designated in such a manner, as left no question as 
to what was intended, in case of an outbreak. — 
The notion of a division of property was becoming 
somewhat familiar ; and several cases have been 
mentioned to me, in which the ignorant and vicious 
declared that this division of property was to be ef- 
fected as soon as the new government came into 
power, and that henceforward they would have no 
occasion for labor. 

It may seem strange that all this should have been 
for so long a time patiently borne, and that this com- 
munity was not sooner aware of its danger. The 
reason is highly honorable to our citizens. The fact 
is, that so accustomed are we to the prevalence of 
law, so confident was every good citizen that he had 
done justly, that all seemed willing to leave the whole 
matter to the returning good sense of those, who^ 



19 

without any rational cause, seemed so much exaspe- 
rated. They felt themselves strong in the principles 
of all social order and good government, and there 
they rested, wilhng and ready, as soon as tranquilhty 
should be restored, to make another attempt to form 
a Constitution which should remove every just ground 
of complaint. Besides, the idea of shedding blood 
was abhorrent to the mind of every good man, and 
it was scarcely beheved that the attempt would act- 
ually be made to enforce this usurpation at such a 
sacrifice. They also believed that they were by the 
Constitution entitled to protection from the General 
Government, and that when the matter came to this 
issue, this attempt at revolution would die away and 
be forgotten. 

These hopes, however, were fallacious. The in- 
terference of the General Government was withheld 
until a subsequent contingency should arrive. The 
leader of the insurrection made an appeal from the 
government of the United States, to those whom he 
chose to call the people of the United States. In 
this he was countenanced by large meetings in New- 
York and other places, and arms and assistance were 
promised him in the prosecution of his design. He 
returned to the city on Monday last, and immediate- 
ly surrounded himself with a military guard. On 
the next day, troops to the amount of nearly four 
hundred were assembled at his head-quarters, though, 
I believe, that a large portion of these came together 
rather for the purpose of preventing his arrest than 
of attacking the city. On Tuesday afternoon he 
seized two brass field pieces belonging to an artillery 



20 

cuiiipaiiy ill the city. This last act revealed to our 
citizens their danger. They immediately flew to 
arms. The arsenal was fully garrisoned, and prepa- 
rations were made for resistance. Orders for troops 
were sent to Warren, Bristol, and Newport. At 
midnight the city was startled by the rapid discharge 
of the signal guns of the insurgents, announcing that 
they had commenced their march upon the arsenal. 
Alarm bells were rung during the night, and the 
whole city was under arms. The morning light, 
however, brought the intelligence that the attack 
upon the arsenal had failed, tliat the insurgents had 
retired from before it, and had mostly returned to 
their homes. About a hundred were, however, as- 
sembled about their head-quarters. By eight o'clock 
in the morning, the troops arrived from abroad, and 
nearly eight hundred men were assembled under 
arms. They marched immediately to arrest the 
mover of this insurrection, but he had already fled. 
All but a few desperate and intoxicated men were 
dispersed; and these promised to deliver up their 
arms in the course of the day. By the ensuing 
morning all had retired, and the city was suflfered to 
resume the duties and avocations of peace. 

But all this has passed away. Would that it could 
be blotted forever from the memory of man. Would 
that the events of the past week could be erased 
from the record of the things that have been. To 
what this project tended I have already alluded. To 
God alone is our tribute of gratitude due, that it has 
leen so utterly confounded. Never in the whole 
course of my life have I seen so clearly, as in this 



21 

instance, the indubitable evidence of the Divine in- 
terposition. The most thoughtless among us has a 
thousand times acknowledged it. In a number of 
instances where the foresight of man could have 
given to events no direction, where the passions of 
men were excited to the uttermost, by a series of al- 
most miraculous providences, God appeared to save 
the effusion of blood, and brought this transaction to 
a termination at which good men of all parties must 
unfeignedly rejoice. Never was there a series of 
events, in which, from the beginning to the end, the 
finger of God was so palpably to be recognized. 
Never had this city or this State occasion for so 
humble, so profound, so universal a thanksgiving. 

I cannot leave this part of the subject without add- 
ing a single remark on the phases which this trans- 
action has assumed, and the design which it ultimate- 
ly adopted. There was first a voluntary association 
with affiliated branches, and a central committee for 
accomplishing an innocent object by innocent means. 
Next, the means became questionable, and then the 
object is changed, until it ends in the attempt at a 
bloody revolution and treason against the State and 
the United States. At every step the whole power 
of the association is brought to bear upon every in- 
dividual, and he is thus constrained, unless he have 
firmness enough to break loose from the slavery, to 
participate in measures which at the beginning he 
could not have looked upon without abhorrence. 
Or, view it in another hght. A Constitution is voted 
for witliout the forms of law, and of course in such a 
manner that none could pretend to determine what 



22 

expression of the wishes of tlie people it really sanc- 
tioned. As measure after measure is adopted, 
thousand after thousand decline any farther co-op- 
eration in the proceeding ; until it has at last dwin- 
dled down to a few armed men of desperate for- 
tunes, who pretend to be acting according to the 
will of the majority ; and who in the name of liberty, 
attempt to seize upon the government and subject 
this city to pillage and murder. Thus easily, is an 
innocent association made an instrument of atro- 
cious wickedness. Such are the dangers of at- 
tempting to remedy what we consider a defect in a 
constitution, without regard to existing and consti- 
tutional laws. 

I believe that my fellow citizens now see this sub- 
ject in its true light. Let us then forget what is 
wrong in the past, excepting in so far as it may 
teach wisdom for the future. We all believe that it 
would have been wise long ago to have extended 
very largely the right of suffrage, and to equalize the 
representation of the different sections of the State. 
Let us then be prompt to act accordingly. And let 
us all approach this subject as citizens of Rhode- 
Island, good men and true. Let us lay aside our 
pre-conceived opinions, the prejudices of party and 
of locality, and deliberate with a single desire for the 
good of the whole. We desire a Constitution which 
shall secure to us and our children, the fullest meas- 
ure of constitutional liberty. To attain this result, 
let us all meet together as brethren, in the true spirit 
of conciliation and patriotism. Thus only can we 
expect that heaven will smile upon our endeavors. 



23 

Thus only shall we show that the lesson of the past 
has not been read to us in vain. 

I have thus far considered merely the social as- 
pects of this transaction. But a more solemn duty 
is now devolved upon me. It becomes me to speak 
of it as the messenger of God, charged by him with 
the obligation to set it before you in the light of eter- 
nal truth. I have thus far called you to thanksgiving: 
I now call you to repentance. Bear with me while 
I speak to you on this subject, briefly but freely. 

1 . During the progress of this contest, the most 
unhallowed passions of the human heart have been 
excited. Men have looked upon each other with 
envy, malice and revenge. On both sides, 1 fear, 
that emotions have been excited on which a holy 
God has looked down with sore displeasure. What- 
ever crime our fellow men may have committed, we 
are forbidden to cherish towards them any other feel- 
ings than those of pity and compassion. And even 
when we are called to oppose their measures, and 
resist their wrong doing, we should allow ourselves 
in no sentiment towards them but that of good will. 
It is one thing to abhor the transgression, and another 
to hate the transgressor. Love your enemies, bless 
them that curse you, and pray for them that despite- 
fully use you, is the precept of that Saviour who 
will judge both you and me in righteousness. That 
man has been in a very unfit frame of mind to meet 
his God, who has not been in the daily habit of com- 
mending those who have differed from him, to the 
compassion of his Father who is in heaven. If there 
be any one who has not thus hved, I call him to re- 



i'l. 

peiitaiice, to rorii;iveiiess, to charity. Lliile^s ye for- 
give men their trespasses, neither will your Father 
who is in heaven forgive your trespasses. 

2. But secondly, there has been committed, in the 
progress of this transaction, a frightful amount of 
crime. This movement has been fostered and sus- 
tained by a series of most astonishing falsehoods. 
The public has been deceived by the reiteration of 
statements on every subject, which must have been 
known by those who uttered them, to be wholly with- 
out foundation ; and by promises which never could 
be fulfilled, or fulfilled only by acts of the most atro- 
cious wickedness. 

3. It has been kept aHve by the propagation of 
the most false and malicious slanders ; and by threats 
of perpetrating the foulest crimes. Ignorant and 
abandoned men have been urged onward to treason, 
by the hope of glutting their revenge against those 
who had always proved themselves their best and 
truest friends, and by the expectation of plundering 
those who, it was supposed, had not the strength or 
spirit to resist. The most virtuous citizens of Provi- 
dence have been stigmatized as its direst enemies ; 
and those whose public liberality had done honor to 
the city, were the first to be designated for destruc- 
tion. On this subject I may be permitted to bear 
my public testimony to the city, which some time 
since I entered a stranger. I have resided here for 
about fifteen years. I have mingled with citizens 
of every name and of every class. I have the honor 
to number among my friends, the rich and the poor, 
of every sect and of all parties, and I do not believe 



25 

that there is a city in the world in which there exists 
a more universal a feehng of kindness. I never knew 
a community in which the deserving poor were so 
immediately relieved, or where a desire for the good 
of the whole was more universally diffused. Let 
any one come among us, and look around upon the 
monuments of our patriotism and social feeling. By 
whom was that Athenaeum founded and so endowed, 
that for a trifling expense its literary treasures are at 
the command of every citizen among us ? Who are 
the warmest friends of our common schools, and who 
have been the most zealous to carry intellectual and 
moral cultivation to every bosom and every fireside ? 
Who are the men that, in times of public distress, 
and of pecuniary pressure, have been most ready by 
their advice, their endorsements, and their loans, to 
reheve the embarrassed, and to assist the failing ? I 
blush to say it is the very men who have been de- 
nounced as tyrants and oppressors. And this has 
been done, must 1 say it, or at least it has been 
countenanced and abetted by men who call them- 
selves the disciples of the Lord Jesus, Avho partake 
of the elements of that body which was broken, 
and that blood that was shed for our sins, and who 
profess to be cultivating in their hearts the temper 
of a holy heaven. 

I am aware that it may be said that all this was 
merely intended to intimidate, and that it was never 
intended to put such threats into execution. 1 am 
wilhng to believe it. But, I ask, is it no wrong to 
utter a false and malicious lie, a vile and atrocious 
4 



26 

libel r Is it no wrong to hold up a man's neighbors 
and fellow citizens as outlaws, when he knows that 
they deserve his gratitude and respect? Is it no 
wrong to urge men to pillage and murder, and goad 
their passions to action, and then to say that we 
thought they would never do it ? Had any of these 
consequences ensued, the men who have uttered such 
sentiments, and the men who have caused them to 
be uttered, would in the sight of God and man, be 
guilty of murder ; and at the bar of God they would 
have to answer for it. In his holy word it is written 
that murderers, and all liars ha\'e then* portion in the 
second death. 

But it will be said the end was right, we were on- 
ly seeking that to which we were justly entitled. I 
answer, this may be clearer to you, than to your 
neighbors. But suppose this to be so, does the end 
justify the means ? Has God permitted you to seek 
even a just end by falsehood and slander, and by a 
course of measures which must naturally tend to 
pillage and bloodshed ? You may say, we did not 
intend this, but if you did not, some of your asso- 
ciates did ; and did you not know that a social revo- 
lution is never accomplished without it ? Do you say 
you did not anticipate this ? I ask, then, was it wise 
for you to embark in such an undertaking, without 
knowing whither it would lead ? No end whatever 
can justify such enormities ; for nothing whatever is 
a sufficient reason for doing wrong. Whatever may 
be the end for which crime may be committed, the 
crime remains the same. I do not say, that if we 
have done it ignorantly, the guilt is the same. But 



27 

even in this case, we are bound to confess our error, 
and to repent of our wrong doing before God. 

But this is not all. This movement aimed at the 
overthrow of the lawful government ; one of the 
gravest crimes which can be committed against soci- 
ety. Whatever may have been the natural rights of 
men previously to a social organization, in forming 
such an organization, they enter into a mutual agree- 
ment to guarantee to each other the enjoyment of 
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. By virtue 
of this compact, every one of us is protected in the 
possession of all that he holds dear. After it has been 
formed, the v/hole society, both majority and minor- 
ity, those in power and those out of power, are sol- 
emnly bound by its provisions. If a majority out oj 
power may overturn it at will, a majority in power 
may do the same ; and thus, all constitutional right 
is merged in the will of the strongest. He who un- 
d^ ikes to efiect a revolution by force, thus, not 
only puts to the extremest hazard all the present in- 
terests of the community, but renders it perfectly 
uncertain in what manner it will ever again be or- 
ganized. The man himself may not mean to pro- 
ceed so far, but how shall he control the instruments 
which he himself has used, and whose passions he 
himself has excited ? Within the past week, every 
one of us has been able to form a shght conception 
of what must be the results of such a catastrophe. 
Every one felt, that if the lawful government of this 
State were overturned, no security for person or pro- 
perty could remain, but that ail was at the mercy of 



2« 

lawless violence. I ask, what tlieii can involve the 
elements of a greater civil crime ? 

But it may be asked, is a revolution never to be 
justified r I answer, the proper object of all govern- 
ment is to secure to every individual the full enjoy- 
ment of life, hberty, and the pursuit of happiness, 
or the power to do in every respect as he will, if he 
interfere with the rights of no other human being. 
For this end is government instituted ; and never, 
until it utterly fail to accomplish these purposes, can 
it be rightfully overturned. No other rule can be 
safely adopted ; for, if my dislike of some of the pro- 
visions of a government be a sufiicient reason for 
taking up arms against it, no form of social organ- 
ization could endure for a day, but every thing would 
be tossed about in the whirlwind of ceaseless revo- 
lution. 

But this is not all. The precepts of religion are 
explicit upon this subject. The New Testament 
teaches us that government is an ordinance of God, 
and that God himself commands us to obey it. — 
Thus, Rom. xiii. 1 : " Let every soul be subject to 
the higher powers ; for there is no power but of 
God ; the powers that be are ordained of God. 
Whosoever therefore resistcth the power, resisteth 
the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall re- 
ceive to themselves damnation. Wherefore ye must 
needs be subject, not for wrath, but for conscience 
sake." Thus, also, Titus iii. 1 : " Put them in mind 
to be subject to principalities and powers; to obey 
magistrates, to be ready to every good work." — 



29 

Again, 1. Pet. ii. 13 : " Submit yourselves to every or- 
dinance of man for the Lord's sake ; whether to the 
king, as supreme, or unto governors, as unto them 
that are sent by him, for the punishment of evil do- 
ers, and the praise of them that do well. As free, 
and not using your liberty as a cloak of malicious- 
ness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men, 
love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king." 
These laws of the Saviour are as explicit as language 
can make them, and they derive a greater stringency 
from the fact that the government under which they 
were written, and to which they immediately refer- 
red, was neitherjust nor paternal. 

Such, do I assert to be the law of God in this 
matter. We are not at liberty to enter a society 
and enjoy its advantages, and then conspire to over- 
turn it ; to swear allegiance, and when we please, 
to violate it. We have no more liberty to overturn 
the social compact when we will, than the marriage 
compact. If we do it, we not only violate our en- 
gagements to man, but we are guilty of a sin against 
God. Such, my brethren, do I believe to be the 
law of that Saviour whom, in the presence of God 
and men, you have promised to obey. You have no 
more right to violate this, than any other of his com- 
mands, and if you do it, he has told you that you 
shall receive his condemnation. If with a knowl- 
edge of his will you violate it, you do it at the peril 
of your souls. 

I may be told that this is a new doctrine, and re- 
strictive of liberty. I reply, it is no newer than the 
times of the apostles ; and it is just as restrictive a& 



30 

the Holy Spirit hiinseU" has made it. The laws 
which I have re[)eated to you are those which Christ 
has enacted. If yon are his disciples, you must ohey 
them, or he will declare " I never knew you." You 
must choose, therefore, in this matter, whom ye will 
serve. 

I ask you then, brethren, is there any of you who 
have been implicated in this attempt to overturn this 
government by force ? Have you encouraged this 
violence by your actions, your conversation, your 
presence, or your example ? I call upon you to ex- 
amine your conduct and your motives in the light of 
God's holy word. By that will you be judged at 
the coming day. Wherein you have sinned, confess 
and forsake your fault, and seek for the pardon of 
God through the merits of his Son. 

It may be asked why I take this occasion to speak 
of these things, while feelings yet sensitive, are liable 
to be wounded. I answer you frankly. I have 
heen informed that a considerable number of pro- 
fessing Christians in this city have been deluded into 
a participation in tliese transactions. I know that it 
has brought a sad disgrace upon the cause of Christ. 
If such things are consistent with the religion of 
Jesus Christ, then the religion of Christ is a fable. 
When such things are done, it becomes me to speak 
freely. I could not recommend the gosj el to my 
fellow men, if I did not at first relieve it from this 
foul dishonor. 

Does any one say, I never thought of all this ? But 
my brother, it is written in the Bible ; v/hy did you 
not think of it ? Did you go where you would be 



s\ 

likely to be put in mind of it f Did you take coun- 
sel of the aged — tlie discreet — the hc^avcnly-minded 
saint, in this matter ? Were you the companion of 
all those who fear God and keej) his command- 
ments ? \V;is your delight in the law of the Lord, 
and in his law did you meditate day and night ? 
Have you not, my brother, deeply erred in this 
thing? And if you have erred, you are this morn- 
ing called to confession and repentance. Your fel- 
low citizens and the Church of Christ have a right 
to expect this of you. The Saviour whom you liave 
disobeyed, and whose cause you have put to shame, 
requires this of you. Meditate, I pray you, upon 
these things. 

Allow me, brethren, to close by a brief suggestion 
of the sentiments proj)er for this occasion. Let us 
first of all lift up our hearts to God, in devout grati- 
tude, for the preservation which he has wrought, and 
let us by holier and more charitable lives, show' that 
He has not chastened us in vain. Let each one of us, 
of every party, review before God, the events of the 
past month, and humbly repent of every wrong to his 
neighbor, or sin against God, which he has by thought, 
or word, or deed committed. Let us with hearts full 
of forgiveness, commend those whom we believe to 
have erred, to the pardoning mercy of God, and the 
sanctifying efficacy of his Holy Spirit. And let us 
look with devout and pious confidence to God, for 
protection in time to come. In his hand are the 
hearts of all men. He can confound the counsel of 
the wncked, and scatter those that delight in war. 



32 

May he be a wall of fire round about us, and the 
glory in the midst of us; and to his name shall be 
the praise forever.- Amen. 



Since the first edition has passed through the press, the au- 
thor has received the following note from the Hon. John 
Pitman, Judge of the District Court of the U. States, which he 
here with pleasure subjoins. 

Peovidence, May 28, 1842. 
Rev. Dr. Wayland, 

Dear Sir — As a second edition of your Sermon is about to be pub- 
lished, I am desirous that an error should be corrected which occurs 
on the 12th page. 

The Charter of 1663 contains no limitation or regulation of the 
right of Suffrage. The freehold qualification was enacted by an act 
of the General Assembly, and was the work of the people themselves, 
by their delegates. 

The Charter authorized the General Assembly to choose such per- 
sons as they should think fit, " to be free of the said Company and 
body politic, and them into the same to admit." This power of admit- 
ting freemen the General Assembly exercised until they authorized 
the several towns to admit freemen. In 1724, an act was passed, by 
the General Assembly, which provided that no person should be ad- 
mitted a freeman unless he owned a freehold estate of a certain value, 
or was the eldest son of such a freeholder. Such has been the law 
ever since, though subsequent acts changed the value of the freehold 
necessary for such admission. 

This feature in the Constitution of our State is not therefore attribu- 
table to Charles II. ; it was the work of the people of this State, who 
had the liberty to make such a fundamental law for themselves, and it 
has been twice re-enacted by the people's delegates, (in the Digest of 
1798, and of 1822,) since the Declaration of Independence. 
1 am, very respectfully, Sir, 

Your obedient sen-ant, 

JOHN PITMAK. 




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